Veneto

Veneto, the region most visited by tourists and one of the richest in Italy, stretches up to the Garda lake in the West, to the Alps and the Austrian border in the North and skirts the Emilia Romagna region in the South, overlooking the Adriatic sea in the East.

The region takes its name from the Venetians, an Indo-European population that settled in this territory around the middle of the 2nd millennium B.C., and was for a long time a proudly independent maritime republic.

The main city is, of course, Venice, unique for its canals, peculiar architecture and beauty.

The Veneto region has been a centre of culture, arts and music for centuries, but it's also known for its fine wines and specific vine varieties: white grapes like Garganega, Glera, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Bianco, Trebbiano, Chardonnay and red grapes, such as Rondinella, Corvina Veronese and a large number of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes.

About ¼ of all DOC Italian wines are produced in fifty areas located next to each other in Veneto.

The conditions for growing vines here are quite favourable. The soil is mainly stone and chalk with traces of red and brown clay, the climate is mild and humid, the Alps protect the vineyards from the rough North-European winds. The white vines are cultivated in the coldest areas of the region, while the red varieties mainly grow in warmer areas.